Plot

François Cardinaud is one of the richest shipowners in the region. But this success arouses resentment and jealousy. When Marthe, his wife, leaves the home without warning, Cardinaud sees his life cracking little by little.

After thirty years of effort, the former longshoreman François Cardinaud has become one of the most powerful men in the port of La Rochelle. On the occasion of a runaway from his wife Marthe with a young thug Mimile, he meets only contempt and hostility. The whole city is delighted to see Cardinaud flouted. Marthe found, Cardinaud forgives him and becomes again the man feared by all. From now on, he will think more of the happiness of his wife.

François Cardinaud is a successful shipowner in the coastal town of La Rochelle in western France. His wife Marthe comes from a modest background and is therefore not fully accepted by the bourgeoisie in her new surroundings. She is also bored with her life as a housewife and with her husband, whom she rarely sees. One day, she disappears after Sunday mass, and François sets out to find her. However, as a well-known figure in the town, he encounters a great deal of resentment and rejection. When the whole town learns that Marthe has eloped with Mimile, her childhood sweetheart who recently arrived by ship, the situation becomes even more complicated. Will François be able to win his wife back, or will the marriage fail due to social differences?—Arte